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Chamberlain key war figure in Battle of Gettysburg, Brush crowd hears

ByLISA JAGER Brush News-Tribune

Posted:
07/15/2013 02:30:17 PM MDT

Peter Walker told the riveting story of Civil War General Joshua Chamberlain at the Brush Museum's July 5 Sack Lunch program. Chamberlain was a key figure in the Battle of Gettysburg. (Courtesy photo/Wayne Carlson)

Peter Walker, known in Morgan County as a fish pathologist and for his nature photography and knowledge, also is an extremely knowledgeable Civil War buff.

He shared the story of Civil War General Joshua Chamberlain at the July 5 Brush Museum Sack Lunch program. Chamberlain played a key and fierce position in the Civil War's pivotal Battle of Gettysburg.

Joshua Chamberlain was born in Brewer, Maine, in 1833, the oldest of three sons and the grandson of Franklin Chamberlain, a sergeant in the War of 1812. Walker said Chamberlain was a scholar from a very young age and was raised by a strong mom, who wanted him to be a preacher. Chamberlain attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where he obtained a bachelor's degree. He then completed training to become a minister at The Bangor Theological Seminary in Bangor, Maine, following which he returned to Bowdoin College to earn a master's degree in romance languages.

After obtaining his master's degree, Chamberlain stayed on at Bowdoin to teach. However, when the Civil War began in 1861, Walker said Chamberlain "thought it was his duty to go to war." He asked the college leaders if he could take a leave of absence to join the war effort but was denied. He then later requested a sabbatical to go to Egypt, which he was granted and following which he promptly joined the military.

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Walker said since Chamberlain had no military training he turned to books to study the art of war. Walker said that much of military at the time had little military background and that they were provided very little training to prepare for battle in the Civil War.

Chamberlain first served under West Point graduate Adelbert Ames and was almost immediately made a Lt. Colonel in Maine's Voluntary Infantry Regiment. The Battle of Antietam soon followed, however, Maine's regiment was not committed. The regiment saw its first fire at the Battle of Shepherdstown, and it was there that Walker says Chamberlain lost his first war horse when it was mortally wounded during battle. Walker said Chamberlain would lose seven or eight horses throughout the war.

However, it was the Battle of Fredericksburg In 1863 that Walker said "gave the boys a real taste of war with bullets whistling past them." Later in 1863, Chamberlain's unit was quarantined for smallpox, however, Walker said Chamberlain "went to battle on his own" in the Battle of Chancerllorsville, where another one of his horses was shot from under him.

The Battle of Gettysburg began on July 1, 1863. Chamberlain's Maine regiment was one of several regiments committed to Gettysburg, and Walker said although the regiment had seen some combat they had "never been in serious combat." As the Battle of Gettysburg ensued Chamberlain's regiment found themselves on hill called Little Round Top, where they eventually ran out of ammunition and were forced to begin taking ammo off of casualties. With Confederate forces moving in, Walker said "Chamberlain had a mess on his hands and was being urged by his lesser officers to pull back."

Instead, Chamberlain ordered his men to affix their bayonets to the end of their rifles and ready themselves for hand to hand combat. Walker said just as the Confederate soldiers were ready to rush up the hill, Chamberlain's soldiers rushed "screaming down at them from the top of the hill." An extremely bloody battle followed, which Chamberlain's regiment won and during which he was injured with a bullet to his foot.

Following the Battle of Gettysburg, Chamberlain was severely wounded in battle with a shot through his right hip, and he was made a one-star general on the battlefield as it was feared the injury would prove fatal. However, he was taken to Washington, D.C., for surgery and recovered. Walker said Chamberlain was eventually made a two-star general.

Walker said the people of Maine pooled together their resources and purchased a horse for Chamberlain named Charlemagne. During battle, Charlemagne was hit with bullet that passed through his neck hitting a mirror in Chamberlain's shirt pocket and bounced off. Although he was not injured, the force of the impact knocked him unconscious. Charlemagne began bleeding profusely, covering Chamberlain in blood as well. A fellow soldier found him in this position and feared him dead. When Chamberlain arose from Charlemagne, the soldier offered him a drink from a flask which Chamberlain accepted. Walker said it was the only time Chamberlain was ever seen taking a drink of alcohol during the war.

At the end of the Civil War when Lee surrendered, Chamberlain was put in charge of Lee's surrender ceremony, which Walker said was a "a dignified affair after a long, ugly war."

After the war, Chamberlain returned to his home in Maine and his position as professor at Bowdoin College where Walker says "he taught every course in the catalog except math." He was eventually made president of Bowdoin College, making it a modern college with an emphasis on science. He also served as the head of the Maine National Guard and became governor of Maine, serving four terms.

In 1893, Chamberlain was finally recognized by the U.S. government for his war service, receiving one of the first war Medals of Honor.

Next month's Sack Lunch program on Friday, August 2 will feature author Jane Ambrose Morton who will discuss cowboy poetry.

Peter Walker told the riveting story of Civil War General Joshua Chamberlain at the Brush Museum's July 5th Sack Lunch program. Chamberlain was a key figure in the Battle of Gettysburg.

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